4k tv vs 1k tv

[Hertzian56]

I know there's a huge difference in resolutions/pixels but I was visiting family around the holidays and watched their nice 4k jumbo tv didn't notice a difference from my 45" 1k when normal watching, it was strange. Expected to be wowed but really wasn't. I realize the size and distance make a difference too, sharper at farther away and such for 4k. They have a lot of room, so it is farther away but only by a few feet then my setup. Of course side by side probably see a difference but the source material is the same 1080p, just up-scaling by their tv.

 

And they had no 4k content to watch it was all their tv upscaling normal 1080p content, even the redbox etc my dad loves to spend so much time getting and taking back etc So sad to see so much time wasted on such bad movies though, they always have to watch new movies, not into classics or older stuff and there's just not much new stuff that's good, at least what redbox thinks is good. Black Adam was terrible as expected but you know family duty type of stuff have to watch a few movies I know are going to be bad just to not be accused of being antisocial etc. Gold wasn't too bad though, made little sense of course but at least was not too annoying.

 

And at least the walmart brand or some other off brand I saw lately had a 1080p 35" tv for like 150$ totally fine for a normal sized place, but new houes are huge and anything below 60" in the main room would be laughable, 2 retirees in a brand new jumbo house which only they are going to be in 98% of the time, mmmkay. No family lives less than 230mi away, neither one of us really cares to be around them much either. Aholes for the most part, couldn't get away fast enough.

[Etern4l]

Yes, you need 4K content, to appreciate a 4K TV. Upscaled content won't really look that much better. It's not DLSS.

[Hertzian56]

Yeah I don't even think redbox has 4k BD's just 1k ones. I guess they supposedly get 4k via netflix but of course not full bitrate like a 4k bd would have. Since they don't like anything but new stuff and have no taste for classics to watch over there's no point in them buying 4k bds, not really a point in older movies anyways other than they clean them up etc but it's not the same as ones shot in full 1k or full 4k. I gave him a 1k bd a few years ago of The Dark Knight and the Planet Earth 1 series but who knows where those are. They have a regular BD player not a 4k one.

[ryan]

i have a 1080p 3d tv by lg right now and have owned many 4k tvs...and no when you sit away from the 4k tv you will not be able to spot anything

[Hertzian56]

Bitrate via netflix for 4k is like 15Mbps, a full 1080p blu ray bitrate is 40Mbps, saw that myself when re encoding a couple years ago down to like 20MBps for a digital copy. I realize that they probably used a different compression algo though always improving no doubt, more from less don't change pixels that don't change results in lower bitrate etc 4k blu ray is about 90Mbps-128. For me it's the motion that was most noticeable much more fluid w the 1k bd. And 4x the pixels at a lower bitrate is going to be better/comparable but calling it 4k is a stretch imo always put that streaming on the end there.

[cylix]

I have a 65 inch 4k OLED and i can see a big difference between 4k HDR10/ Dolby Vision from Netflix, Disney+ and normal IPTV 1080 Television. After i watch a nice movie on Netflix or Disney and switch back i can see the downgrade. But the biggest diff was when i  switched from 55 1k to 65k 4k, like a week i was blown away but afterwards i think your eyes get used to it.

[Etern4l]

Yeah, there is a huge delta between 4K and 1080p, I'm not sure up to what distance, but would guess at least 10m. Netflix/Amazon Prime 4K content is really good, not much difference vs BD in practice. The improvement brought by 8K vs 4K is also fairly subtle. 

[Hertzian56]

yeah it's the trick of side by side comparison, if you don't upgrade and don't have a quick switch ability it's not really an issue and depends on what you watch too, classics not that much difference, is an old bw film going to be that much better upscaled? probably not. I think gaming is probably the best way to see the quality upgrade. Of course modern film/tv made with 4k equipment is going to look a lot better but as I said very little out there that is good.

[Etern4l]

I mean the difference is massive, there is no way anyone would confuse 4K and 1080p content, unless there is some eyesight issue. If in doubt, just go to a TV store and look at 4K content. The improvement is super-obvious.

[Hertzian56]

IF it's bona fide full fat bitrate 4k not streaming 4k, the bitrates don't lie. I've been to bb and other places seen supposedly 4k stuff, didn't wow me and I have no 4k anything at home. Of course I'm not sitting there for 20mins either. Eh at least 4k tvs are pretty much the same nominal cost range as 1080 ones were, pc/laptop screens another story though. Just glad there are plenty of 1k tvs out there at appropriately lower prices, probably on the extinction list though. 8k like new OS, just only thing available for buyers of new equipment down the road, nothing magic about it.

[Etern4l]

There is barely any difference between BD and streaming in practice. On Netflix you will sometimes spot some minor artifacts (it was bad during covid when they were forced by regulators to cut the bitrate), but the higher resolution is very clear, and the overall image quality is excellent almost always. 

[ryan]

like i said its impossible to see a pixel at 6 feet away using 4k

[Sandy Bridge]

So... I'm pretty sure by "1k" you mean "2k".

 

"4k" is a marketing term that means 3840x2160.  Its predecessor was "1080p" which means 1920x1080, also known as "Full HD".  "1k" is an inaccurate retronym that takes the "4k" applying to the (rounded) width in pixels, but incorrectly applies it to the height of its predecessor instead.  If 3840 can be rounded to "4k", then 1920 could be rounded to "2k".  Or perhaps more easily we use the height in both cases, 1080p versus 2160p.

 

I have a 4K TV but it's only 48", I got it in 4K because even in 2016 it was hard to find a 1080p TV above 40".  At that screen size, and viewing from the couch, using Amazon Prime streaming or games via HDMI, I'm hard-pressed to spot a difference.  Might be different if it were a 65" or 75" screen.

 

The "eyes get used to it" factor is also there.  If I'm watching a DVD, then yes, there's a quality difference versus the same film in Blu-Ray.  But if it's a good film, then 5 minutes in I'm focused on what's going on and am not noticing the resolution difference.  Sure I'd rather have the Blu-Ray all things equal... but "eyes get used to it" can apply to degraded as well as improved quality.

 

What I really want is 1080p sports, rather than the 720p that dominates live broadcasting today.

[Hertzian56]

1k=1080p, 2k=1440p, 4k=2160p, 4k has 4x the pixels of 1080p so nope that's accurate. You multiply the full screen spec and 4k is 4x that of 1k's. 1080x1920=2,073,600, 2160x3840= 8,294,400=4x2073600

[Sandy Bridge]

But shouldn't it be 2MP and 8 MP if we're going by pixel count?

 

My point is that the "1" in "1k" and the "4" in "4k" are deriving their names from different dimensions.  If it were "4x" as in "4 times as many", it might also make sense for it to be "1x" and "4x", but it isn't.  And if it were, "8k" would have to be "16x" or "16k" since it in turn has 4 times the pixels of 4k.

 

Moreover I'm 99.9% sure the term "1k" never existed before 4k TVs hit the market.  Can we find an example of "1k" meaning "1920x1080" or "1080p" or "full HD" from before, say, 2014?

[Aaron44126]

1080p should be referred to as "2K", not "1K".  The name is derived from the horizontal width.  3840×2160 = "about" 4,000 pixels wide = 4K.  (The same holds true for 8K and 16K standards popping up.)

[Hertzian56]

13 hours ago, Sandy Bridge said:

But shouldn't it be 2MP and 8 MP if we're going by pixel count?

 

My point is that the "1" in "1k" and the "4" in "4k" are deriving their names from different dimensions.  If it were "4x" as in "4 times as many", it might also make sense for it to be "1x" and "4x", but it isn't.  And if it were, "8k" would have to be "16x" or "16k" since it in turn has 4 times the pixels of 4k.

 

Moreover I'm 99.9% sure the term "1k" never existed before 4k TVs hit the market.  Can we find an example of "1k" meaning "1920x1080" or "1080p" or "full HD" from before, say, 2014?

Nah not interested dude, 4k was called 4k for whatever reason and it IS 4X the pixels of [(your version here-K)] ---aka 1080p---,shown clearly above, despite what others imagine. Not going to go deeper into this as it's trivial/pointless.  If you don't like me calling it 1k fine, but that's what I refer to it here as in some places, have fun.

[ryan]

i personally call it 1080p. lol

 

but yeah its so subjective

 

 

and the nail in the coffin in support of my friend

 

Is 1440p 4K or 2K?

 

 

2K displays are those whose width falls in the 2,000-pixel range. More often than not, you'll find 2K monitors with a display resolution of 2560x1440, that's why it's often shortened to 1440p. However, this resolution is officially considered Quad HD (QHD). As such, many monitors claim their resolution as 2K QHD.

[kojack]

We have one of those fancy shmancy curved uber expensive Samsung tv monitors at work to display the 4k output of our tv boxes. Is 4k noticeable?  yes when you are a ft or 2 away from the set,  once you are back 6-8 where most people view it, NOPE. Marketing is a hell of a drug!

[Hertzian56]

Yeah didn't mean to sound harsh there but the naming format is just a sideline. I was just pointing out that I really didn't notice a difference from a 1080p 40" tv w 1080p content and a 4k tv with Xk content. I'm not actually sure if it was 1080p or 4k stuff, since parents are def in a small market I'm guessing redbox bds are 1080p not 4k and I'm also guessing streamed tv-,(College bowls/some nba), via the espn app is not 4k either. He got a 1 month sub just for the bowl season not sure if they broadcast in 4k there but like I said the whole time no matter what we were watching it did not wow me at all.

 

Of course matters little since 4k tvs are similar pricing as 1080p was, and 1080p TVs at lower prices are getting hard to find, have to go off brand or used almost. Decreasing gains though, reading around looks like most content is not 4k, true 4k, and 8k is probably not going to be any different. Maybe they'll push through some really exotic thing like raytracing/nvidia to justify the cost and minimal difference, maybe the upscaling like DLSS would be a differentiator who knows. Snake Oil world now really.

 

edit: even espn didn't do 4k, but it says the championship game was which we did watch, didn't stand out at all no wow factor.

https://tvanswerman.com/2022/12/18/will-espn-show-college-footballs-championship-game-in-4k-what-about-other-bowl-games/

[ryan]

close up it matters but yeah back 6 feet I don't think you can spot the difference

Edited March 6, 2023 by Custom90gt
inappropriate

[Etern4l]

14 hours ago, ryan said:

 

close up it matters but yeah back 6 feet I don't think you can spot the difference

 

I can assure you the difference between 4k and 1080p on proper 4K content is very clear to me at 6 feet on a reasonable size screen  (50 inch plus). It may be a question of the actual content (here I am considering content that would clearly exhibit the extra resolution, i.e. the vast majority of cases), the person's eyesight, or other visual acuity related factors etc. 

[ryan]

I was nervous to post back here. but im back haha(nervous laugh)

 

I have a 1080p tv beside my 4k tv in the living room and the first thing I notice is the brightness then the colors and overall image. can you tell one is 4k? yes just slightly more detailed with the odd hyper focused glance, but in general from 10 feet back no I cannot see the pixels and I think in this case the placebo effect comes into play, you know one is 4k, and you just believe blindly lol, that it is better. it really is subjective im nearly blind and have thick glasses so that could play a role. but I just can't see someone noticing a pixel from 10 feet back on a 1080p tv, like could you spot a dead pixel from that difference. we are laptop and desktop diehards and right now im on a oled 13.3in 1080p display and i can just just see the pixels so yeah 1440p or 4k would help. but on a tv that you typically watch from afar i just don't see it but thats just my opinion and everyone is welcome to share their opinions.

[kojack]

You are 100 percent correct Ryan. We have a super expensive Samsung curved 4k tv at work. Running on Bell's 4k tv service. You can only tell a difference if you are 0-about 6ft away.  After that there is no discernable difference in image quality that you can see. Placebo. 4k etc are great for PC monitors because you are only a couple of feet away. After that, nope. I can't tell the difference between my "crappy" Motorola display on my G 5g or the "magical" display of my iPhone 13 other than color temperature differences. 

[Etern4l]

Unfollowing lol